Author Archives
Elizabeth Pelayo is the library media specialist at St. Charles East High School in St. Charles Illinois. She currently writes book reviews for School Library Journal. She is a member of the AASL AAUP Book Selection Committee. Also, she is a member of the nominations committee for the ISLMA Abraham Lincoln Book Award.
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Self-Care Isn’t Selfish: 5 Tips to Stay Sane during School Start
When the school year begins all the planning and preparations we did over the summer come together. Our energy is high and we feel refreshed as the doors open and we meet our students the first week of school. As… Read More ›
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Transforming Your Island into a Peninsula
As each new school year approaches we are all thinking about what we want to change and improve on and setting new goals for ourselves. For many years I have heard the ideology that our school library positions are an… Read More ›
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5 Tips to Organize Your Summer Reading
As we close down our school libraries and think ahead to the next school year, all of us are thinking about our summer reading list. What will we bring home to read? What should we read first? How can we… Read More ›
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Adventures in 3D Printing
As the makerspace craze continues to sweep across libraries nationwide, school libraries are trying to come up with ways to engage students in meaningful makerspace work. This year the majority of my time at the close of the semester has… Read More ›
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A Prime Location for Circulation: Book Displays
When students enter through the front library doors the first thing they encounter is our study hall desk and a book display podium. This book display is strategically placed here to entice students into grabbing a new novel, but I… Read More ›
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Open Door vs. Out The Door Policy
The best administrators are those who welcome conversations and new ideas, collaborations, and support. Many school administrators accomplish this lofty goal by instituting an “open door” policy where teachers and students can feel free to come in if the door… Read More ›
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History Club-Curated Film Archive
An archive is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a place in which public records or historical materials (such as documents) are preserved.” The school library is a key space for archived materials in any school. We preserve yearbooks from years past,… Read More ›
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Personalized Book Talks with YouTube
In an educational climate where English teachers are feeling overwhelmed by the mounting expectations from state and district administration, reading for enjoyment can be one of the first things to get the curriculum ax. Research time and again has shown… Read More ›
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The Blended Learning-Ready School Librarian
Districts across the country are beginning to focus on personalized learning for students and staff. As we look for ways to meet students where they are on the educational playing field, blended learning’s flexible style is a natural fit…. Read More ›
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Books to Netflix
Students now more than ever are accessing television through streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. A large percentage of programs and movies that are popular right now started as novels that we have in our school libraries…. Read More ›